The boat returned from the bark, and, after a little consultation among the pirates, was despatched a second time. It was already quite dark, and we, to all outward appearances quiet and composed, were sitting in the cabin,--the prey to thoughts and emotions which cannot be expressed,--silently awaiting our fate. When the boat returned for the second time, Captain Maffit held a consultation with several of his officers on a retired portion of the deck; after which, descending into the cabin, he told us that the vessel was a Dane, bound for the island of St. Thomas, and that her captain had consented to take us as passengers. Then, turning to Captain Frisbie, he said: “What do you say to taking her?” “I say take her; any port in a storm,” quickly replied the captain. It was then after nine o’clock. The sky was clear, and a few stars were shining, but there was no moon. There was, also, a sharp breeze, and considerable swell in the ocean; enough, certainly, to impress us with a sense of the formidable character of the adventure which we were about to make, the fearfulness of which now flashed upon our minds in all its appalling reality. It was like being on the roof of a house with all on fire beneath and around. Liberty, and life, for aught we knew, both depended upon facing the danger, and it did not take us long to understand and weigh the dreadful contingencies of the case; but, trusting ourselves to the guiding hand of that same kind Providence who had hitherto protected us, and hoping to reach the deck of the friendly bark in safety, we gathered up the remnant of our luggage, and prepared to take our departure. We have already mentioned the fact that the officers of the _Florida_, although _high-minded Southern gentlemen_, were possessed of decidedly large organs of acquisitiveness. True to their natural or cultivated instincts, they could not let us depart without practising a little more of their honorable handicraft. When our luggage was brought out and piled on deck, just before our departure, we were assured that all of it should be safely sent on board. We had an undefined fear that some of it would be retained, but dared not intimate to Captain Maffit that we should like our things taken on board _first_, for fear of giving offence, and involving ourselves in some new trouble. We therefore concluded to patiently await the issue of events; but, as will be seen in the sequel, our fears proved well founded.